Bag-filling method and apparatus



Nov. 25, 1930. s. H. LILLY BAG FILLING METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed June 14. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l 33 El j@ Nov. 25, 1930. s. H. LILLY 1,782,733

BAG FILLING METHOD AND APPARTUS Filed June 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheei 2 GOZ LLZZ] 3331; @im *t @M Patented Nov. 25, 1930 UNITED STATES SCOTT H. LILLY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO :BAG-FLLING METHOD AND .APPARATUS Application f led .T une 14,

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for filling bags, and is more specifically directed to the opening up of the bag preparatory to receiving a charge of lnaterial and the removal of air from the interior of the bag so that it does not interfere with the filling ofthe bag. Details of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming a i part of this specification, Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation of a. portion of apparatus adapted to carry out this invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same apparatus yshown in F 1, but in a different position; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of a portion of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6-is a partial section approximately on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is a diagram* matic view of a device which may be used to feed material to the construction shown in Fig. l; Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic section of another form of construction adapted to feed material to the apparatus shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 9 is a somewhat diagrammatical section of a device adapted to utilize the principles of this invention in iilling open mouth bags;

Fig. 10 is a view of a dierent position of the U casing shown in Fig. 9.

In the constructionshown in Fig. 1, there is a casing comprising a substantially stationary section 2O and an oscillating section y21. The stationary section 2O is supported upon brackets 22 which in turn may be mounted upon a knife edge pivot 23 at the end of a scale beam 24. A single scale beam 24 Y may be used, but preferably, parallel beams 4 are used with a pivotal support under each Vside of the casing.

Swinging section 21 is pivotally supported on bracket 22 by arms 25. Each section is substantially L-shaped in cross section, as shown in Fig. 3. Section 2O is provided with a. packing joint 26 against which the edge of section 21 rests when in closed position and a similar packing joint 27 is provided in sec- Y tion21 to receive the edge of section 20. A 50 similar packing joint 28 is provided along 4under the influence ofA lug 37 and spring 35 1928. Serial N'o. 285,433.

curved line 29 where the bottom of section 21 rests on section 207 and a similar packing joint, not shown, is provided along line 30 where the top of section 21 wedges against the upper end 31 of section 20. The top 31 w) and bottom 32 of section 20 are closed so that a substantially air-tight casing is formed when section 21 is swung into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2. A latch 33 is pivoted at 34 on section 21. A spring 35 @g is provided between a lug 36 on section 21 and one arm of latch 33. The other arm of latch 33 is adapted to enter a notch in lug 37 on member 2O in order to hold the casing in closed position.A A handle 38 is provided on the latch for opening the casing when desired. A stop 39 on section 21 stops the latch in position so that it will encounter lug 37 and automatically move to closed position when section 21 is moved to closed position.

Projecting from the side of section 20 there is a box 40. A feed tube 41 projects through box into the casing. A pipe 42, leads from box 40 to any suitable means for exhausting i air. BOX 40 may communicate directly with the interior of the casing formed by sections 20 and 21 or it may communicate by means of a series of openings 43, as shown in Fig. 5. Preferably, a meshed sleeve 44 is provided around feed tube 41 within the casing and is maintained spaced from tube 41 by a corrugated metal member 45 or similar means which presentsv passageways inside of the sleeve 44. The ends of these passageways at the wall of section 21 may lead directly into box 40 or may be connected to boX 40 by perforations 46 through the wall of the casing of` section20, as shown in Fig. 5.

The operation of the device thus far described is .as follows. With the apparatus in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1, a valve bag may be positioned within section 2O with its valve placed over feed spout 41 and sleeve 44. In the construction shown, the lower portion of section 22 is provided with a bottom 47 which may be provided with a slot 48 for receiving the seam 49 of a bag, where the bag used has an outstanding seam. After the bag has been placed in position,

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section 21 is raised and closed, as shown in Fig. 2. Thereafter, material is supplied to pipe 41 in any suitable manner. At the same time, or just prior to, the supplying of material to pipe 41, air is exhausted through pipe 42 and box 40, thereby exhausting the interior of the casing through the' openings 43 and the interior of the bag through comparatively small openings 46 and the cloth or reticulated material 44. Since the escape of air from the casing outside of the bag'is freer than from Within the bag, a higher degreerot vacuumwill be created, at leastmomentarily,

outside of the bag than exists within the bag. As a result of this differential pressure, the bag 4is at'once expanded against the inclosing Walls of the cas-inv In orderY to revent the of the bag.

charge, the vacuum connection may I Wallsof the bag from contacting the casingadjacent box and preventing the 'escape lof air'completely around the bavgthe interior vvot' the casing Walls maybe provided With small channelsV or grooves 50, as shown in detail Fig. 4. Continued exhaustion of the air through .pipe 42 maintains the bag in its expanded shape `and at the same time With-' draws from the Ainterior of the bag any air which mayenter thebag with the filling ma-Y. terial. In this Way there is provided a ready means for expanding the bag in the proper manner to receive material and at the same time for withdrawing air from the interior After the bag has received its proper be brolremlatch 33 released and the oscillatable section. swung about its'pivot to the position ,in -Which itis shown in Fig) 1. It will be Y lreadily seen that the bag Will rest initially Y upon bottom 47.y connected to'section 21 and as it isswung over to the position fin which the section is shown in Fig. 1, the bag willV rest Ymore and more upon the short side of .section v2.1. In this Way thebag is removed from section 20 and placed inpositionto be conveyedaivay in any desired manner.

The material may be supplied to pipe 41 inany desired manner; In Fig. 7, thereY is 1 disclosed'anextension41aivhich may be con Vcient to `till a bag. Pipe 41a has a YflexibleY end 53 Twhich Ymay bev raisedA and lowered by.A means Vof afrod y54. nWith Icertain kinds of .materiah ysaid. iilling imaygbe accomplished fbyini-tially. raising'theend of pipe 53juntil Y it `rests upon the itop .ofthe-.chargen connected with Apipe41 and Which leads fromV a .5 f casing 51. This casing may belled through hopper 52 with a chargelof materialsuli- .Ltainer -51,j so'-' that 'when air is exhausted I through pipe 42, lthe-material will be drivenV into ,pipe 53 Aand .through Apipes 41a and 40 into theA bag' by air pressure. TheV end :of

Vpipe 58 may 'be -loWereda'spthe .material is.`

-transferredfrom container -51'Yso that the material cfnitinues lto -befdrawn into pipe 53 The air entering the bag With the material may be exhausted through sleeve 44 into box 4Q and pipe 42.v Y

' ln Fig. 8, there is'shoivn a vpipe 41b Which may be'connected with pipe 41 and material fed therethrough from a container 55. In this case, there is an air pipe 56 provided in the bottomrof the container With a nozzle 57 direc-ed towards the'inlet opening of pipe 411. W hen it is desired to ll the bag, a-

`proper charge may be introduced .into container andthe material drawn into theV evacuated vbag vby air pressure entering through pipe 56, if desired, or if preferred,

Vpressure above atmospheric may be applied readily understoodA that modifications or' air means for propelling the inaterialmay be selected, if desired.

rlhe interior of the c asing and also of the bag will be evacuated vto less than atmospheric pressure at the conclusion oit the filling operation, and when pipe 42 Vis disconnected from the source of vacuum and-atmospheric air is allowed to enter, it will release the Walls of .the bag from the surrounding casing and at thesame time a sli eht amount of .air will 7 23 enterthrougli sleeve 44 to make the pressure Within the bag equal to atmospheric pressure. This puff of air will ordinarily be suficient to clean materialout of sleeve 44; but if this does Vnot prove sucient', thesleeve may be cleaned additionally by air introduced through pipe 42 and box 40 under pressure.v

In Figs. 9 and 10, there Isshown a `casing 60 which has an upwardly[directed :fla-nge'61 kadapted to be raised against .packing ring 627m an air box 63 surrounding a .feed tube 64. At the `bottom end ot *feed Atube 64 there l l are provideds'uitable devices 65 for 'fastening port 67 for the Ybottom' end of the bag may .be provided upon the'upper end Vof'a columnr V68 which'passesjthrough the bott-0in 69 of cas-v ingil). A packing 70 may be provided be@ tiveenlthe bottoin`69 .and support '617 soz as to provide a substantially air-tight joint.' Box 63 be evacuated by means of a pipe T1 leading'to any suitableinea'ns for evacuating Yair. It desired, provision may be n1'a'cle-to'r exhausting air ,from Within the bagiby tubes 72 leading to the air box through feed tube 44 andhaving their inner endsdir-ected d oWn- Wardly. The outer ends 'ofitliese air tubes 72' 'maybe `provided With .flap valves rw'hich andrearred vthe :passing air.4 into itlieibag.

are @normally closed and require, .feith'er "-bef thereiiito through feed pipe 6e.

cause of gravity or spring pi"b in a Well lin-ouin manner, a cert differential iressure before the; L

Casing GO may be slidable verticali'v upon column GS and may be adapted to rest upon a support T-l at the bottom of column (SS. ln Fig. lf). this support is vn provided with a pad Yfor receiving casing when it dropped.v

ln operating the device shown in r and l0. a bag may be positioned on the end of "eed spout (ist and held thereon ov latches 55. Thereafter; casing {il} in any suitable manner to the pos- V which it is shown in 9, thereby iiiclosing the ban" in a substan rif '-tight casing. Thereafter, air exhausted through pipe to evacuate the casing around the bag and expand it to proper open position. llt the same time, air is exhausted th iugh the pipe 72 and valve F3 from Within the bag to a. less degree than from Without the bag, but sufficiently to prevent objectionable trapping of air Within the bag when the charge is fed After the bag has received its charge, the vacuum in box 63 and casing GO is brolien and the casing is lowered` to the position in which it "lioivn in l0, leaving the bag resting upon support 6T and readily removable therefrom.

lWhile any desirable means may be em ployed for making the joints of the casing substantially air tight, a construction is shown in detail in Fig. fl which is suitable for in lting areadily separable joint that is substantially air tight regardless of slight irregularities in the closing of the sections. ln this construction, a grooi'e 58 is formed in one member along the line ot' the joint. his groove may be slightly dovetailed if desired. A strip 59 et vmetal or similar material has the edges of an impervious fiexible strip 59 folded along its sides, and is then thrust into the groove. The parts should fit tightly enough to hold strip 59a in place. Strip 59n may be made of rubberv if desired.

In filling bags which are sufliciently pervious to allow the escape of air Without intertering with the filling operation, no special arrangement for connecting'the interior of the bag to evaeuating means is necessary; and even When the Walls of the bags are impervious, there may be sufficient vent around the filling tube Without special provision therefor. This is particularly apt to be true When the joint between the bag and filling tube is long, as in lling open mouth bags. The interior of the casing may be made larger than the filled bag, so that the bag expands approximately to the shape forming the largest cavity therein allowed by its Walls but in the inajority of cases it is preferable to have the interior of the casing but slightly larger than the expanded bag and shaped to form the package in the manner desired. F or packing ssure applied degree oi' onen.

vand handling it is generally preferable to have the filled bag form packages with approximately square corners, and for this pur pose the casing shown in Figs. l to 6 is illustiated as being just large enough to receive' sired, or the casing may be given any jigging motion desired for settling or packing material Within the bag Wit-hout putting any undue strain upon the Walls of the bag.

`While tivo methods of' employing the in vention have been shown, one adaptable for use with valve bags and the other for open mouth'bags5 it Will be readily understood that the applications disclosed are by Way of eX- ample and that details may be modified within thescope of the appended claims.

lVhat I claim is l. The method of filling a bag, Which comprises enclosing the bag in a casing, evacuating air from the casing outside of the bag and thereby expanding the bag into contact With the casing7 and filling material into the eX- paiided bag Within the casing.

2. The method of filling a paper bag, which comprises enclosing the collapsed bag in acasing, reducing the pneumatic pressure in the casing outside of the bag below the pneumatic pressure Within the bag and thereby eX- panding the bag, and filling material into the expanded bag Within the casing.

3. The method of filling a bag, which comprises enclosing a bag ina casing having an interior cavity having approximately the shape it is desired to give the filled bag, eX-

panding the bag by pneumatic pressure until its Walls contact the casing, and filling material into the expanded bag.

l. The method of filling a paper bag, which comprises enclosing a collapsed bag in a cas-110 ing, evacua-ting air from the casing both from inside and outside of the bag but more rapidly from the outside than from the inside of the bag and thereby expanding the bag and thereafter filling material into the bag While continuing to exhaust air therefrom.

5. The method of filling a paper bag, which comprises enclosing a bag in a casing, evacuating air from the casing, both from outside and inside the bag but more rapidly from the? outside than from the inside of the bag, and Y introducing air together with 'filling material into the interior of the bag While continuing to evacuate air therefrom.

G. The method of filling a bag, which comprises enclosing a. bag in a casing, evacuating air from the casing outside of the bag, filling material into the bag and yat the same time evacuating air from the bag through a screened opening, and, after the bag is filled,

145 outsidea portion of said tube adapted to clearing the screen lbyV passing air therethrough into the bag. u Y

'7. The method of filling a bag, which comprisesenclosi'ng a bag in acasing, evacuating air from the casing outside of Ythe bag and from the inside of the bag through a screened opening, filling material into the bag while continuing Yto withdraw air therefrom through said screened opening, and clearing the screen by permitting the entrance'of air `Vvunder atmospheric pressure through the screen `into the bag tov break the vacuum v8( In bagfilling apparatus, a casing adapted to enclosea bag, means to fill material into VaY bag within the casing, means'to evacuate Vthe casing outside of the bag, and means providingan obstructed opening connecting the interior ofthe bag with the interior of the casingoutside .of the bag.

9. In vbag filling apparatus, a casing, a filling tubeventering the casing and adapted to be'connected with the filling opening of a bag within the casing, means to evacuate the vcasing outside-.of the bag, and means associated with the filling ,tube and providing an obstructed passageway leading from theinterior of the bag to said evacuating means.

:10. In apparatus for filling bags, a filling tube adapted to enter the filling opening of a bag, aV screen outside of a portionv of the tube adapted to enter the bag, there being a enterlthe bag, means to evacuate air from the casing outside of the bag, and means kpro- Y the interior ofthe casing .outside of the bag.

f 13. Inapparatus for filling bags, a casing i,comprisingrelatively.movable sections, a fillfinvg tube entering through one section, a connection from the same section toevacuating Vmeans,'and. means on a relatively movable sectionfor supportingafilled bag. Y

14. In bag filling apparatus, a Lvcasing adapted to enclose a bag, the interior Vof said casing being approximately the size and shape desired to be imparted to the filled bag,

means to evacuate the casing outside of abag, andmeans to iillmabagwithin the casing.

' 15. In apparatus for filling-valve bags, a

casing comprising a relatively stationary sectimyanrl a section oscillatable with respect to section Jfor evacuating the interior of the cas-V ing, and packing strips adapted to makeair tight joints between said sections. Y

16. VIn apparatus of the character described, a sectional casing having a substantially air tight joint between two sections 'comprising a groove in one section along a line where the edge of the other section is Vadapted to come in contact therewith, a comparatively stiff member seated in the bottom of the groove and va flexiblefmember positioned across the outer side of the groove and having its'edges between the edges of the groove and said stiff member, said members being arranged to provide an air space therebetween. Y f

17. In Vbag filling apparatus, a casing mounted upon a weighing device, a Vacuum connection adapted to exhaust air from 'within the casing and expand a bag therein into contact with thewalls of lthe casing, and meansato fill material into the expanded bag.

1S. In bag iilling apparatus, a casing mounted upon a weighing device and adapted to enclose a bag, the interior of said casing being approximately the size and shape desired to be imparted to the lled bag, means to evacuate the casing outside of a bag, and `means to lill the bag within the'casing.

AIn testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification.

SCOTT H. LiLLY.

.viding a passageway between said spaceand Y 

